


Grumpy Old Men

by thecookiemomma



Category: NCIS
Genre: Challenge Response, Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-13
Updated: 2011-11-13
Packaged: 2017-10-26 00:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecookiemomma/pseuds/thecookiemomma





	Grumpy Old Men

Jethro sat on the couch in his living room, reading a historical novel, reading glasses sliding halfway down his nose. Tobias strode in, still wearing the apron from cleaning up supper. He reached over, pushing the offending glasses back up onto his nose, grumbling under his breath about the uselessness of the things if he didn't keep 'em perched on his nose.

 

“Tobias, quit your gunchin' and sit your ass down.” Gibbs' harsh words stood in direct contrast to the gentle touch he laid on the other man's arm, stroking down the skin where his rolled-up sleeve had been. “C'mon. You been runnin' all day long. Sit down and take a load off.”

 

“All right, Jethro, geeze.” Jethro glanced over as Tobias sat down. Gibbs leaned over toward the other man, resting his head on his lover's shoulder. “I see how it is, huh? You just wanted a damn pillow.”

 

Gibbs grinned, but didn't move, except to nuzzle a bare patch of skin on the man's neck. He grunted, not really needing to express his dissent otherwise. “Was thinkin', Tobias.”

 

“Stop the presses,” Fornell replied drolly. When Gibbs moved to glare at him over his glasses, Tobias reached up, pushing the damn things up again and relented with an insouciant grin. “Okay, Gibbs. What're you thinkin' about?”

 

“Comin' out.” Gibbs didn't want to have a conversation about this, but he felt it was about time. “Your team, my team, Diane, a couple others, maybe...” Gibbs hated being the one to bring things up, but they did need to talk about it. “We're both retirin' soon. Told you about that little bastard tryin' t' fix me up with someone, right? Got Borin in on it and everything.” He rolled his eyes, and took his glasses off, then stuck the bookmark in the book. He was hoping to talk for a while just now. “He's just stubborn enough t' keep at it. Kinda like t' focus on somethin' other than my supposed lack of a love-life. Love-life's just fine.” He grumbled this last, though it was the only way he could express his satisfaction with the other man in his bed.

 

Tobias was silent for a long moment, and Gibbs turned his body so that he could gauge the other agent's reactions. “So, in other words, we'd tell Sacks, Johnson, Markinson, DiNutzo, David, McGee,” Tobias ticked the names off on his fingers, “Abby, Ducky, Diane – and by default, Emily, and who else?” He looked up, half-skeptical, half-intrigued. Jethro smiled a little at the sight.

 

“Was thinkin' Jack.” He looked up into Toby's eyes with what was probably a very sappy expression on his face. “And maybe your dad, if you wanna.” He shrugged, dropping his hand to massage lightly on Tobias' thigh.

 

“Maybe.” Toby stayed non-committal. “Hell of a thing, Gibbs.” He spoke quietly. “I'm not sure how it's gonna affect...” He paused, reaching his own hand to turn Gibbs' over. “Your kids discreet?” Gibbs had to suppress an outright grin at the man's question. Both of them knew how close his team was to his heart.

 

“Shit, yeah.” Gibbs snorted. “Abby'd be the one t' worry about. She gets excited about somethin', and she gets all loud. Maybe tell her with ASL, so she connects it. Then, when she gets loud...” He freed his hand from Toby's so he could demonstrate. “She'll do it this way, instead.” He laughed, a short sharp bark of a laugh that had Toby smiling that sly smile he loved so much. He leaned over to place a soft kiss on the side of Fornell's mouth. Pulling back, he reciprocated the question. “Your team blab much?” He slyly slid his hand back to entwine with Toby's for a while.

 

“Not really, no.” He snorted. “Sacks'll ride my ass about somethin' for a week that'll be code for it, but otherwise...” He shrugged, jolting Jethro a little bit. “One I'm worried about's Diane. You know she's gonna shit her pants.” He snorted, and Jethro couldn't keep his own snort silent.

 

“Yeah. She make a big deal of it, though? Shouldn't be that much of an issue, huh? Em already comes over here for her weekend. Or she gonna make an issue of it?” Jethro leaned back, shifting back to sit normally on the couch. “Could exclude Diane if she's gonna cause a shitstorm.” He reached for his coffee, taking a sip of the drink.

 

“Dunno. Gotta think about it. How you wanna do it, anyway?” Tobias asked, seemingly unaware of the innuendo in his question.

 

“Anyway you'll let me, bozo.” Gibbs responded to it with a shit-eating grin, earning him a muttered grouse and a slight shove. He grinned, setting his coffee down. “Thought about havin' one team at a time over and seein' how it went, then Jack, then Joe, if you wanna, then deal with Diane.” He shrugged. “Wouldn't have t' be one on top of the other.”

 

“Your team first?” Tobias was getting into the idea now, Gibbs saw. He pulled his hand from Gibbs' and slid it around behind Jethro's shoulder, stroking him on the back of the neck. Gibbs shuddered at the simple touch.

 

“Probably, yeah. DiNozzo'll call bullshit, McGee and David won't know what t' think, and Abbs'll squeal like a banshee.” He snickered. “You wanna?”

 

“Yeah.” Tobias' smile was the small one, the one that was only just barely there on his lips, but lit his eyes up like a spotlight. “Yeah. Next week for your kids?”

 

“Eh. Why th' hell not?” Both men snorted, then let the comfortable silence fall.

 

* * *

“Tobias, you got the sauce done?” Gibbs called from upstairs. He was changing out from his stained work clothes into something a little more presentable. Nice jeans and a casual blue button down that one of the kids got him for Christmas last year. He couldn't remember whether it was McGee or DiNozzo. Oh, right. It was McGee. DiNozzo'd got him some hand tool. He'd used it quite a bit since then.

 

“Sauce is done, Jethro. You changed yet? They'll be here in ten.” Both men snarked at each other lightly, expressing their nervousness about the night.

 

“Just about.” Gibbs finished up, stepping down the stairs again, slipping his arms around his aproned lover. “Mmm.” He nibbled on the back of Tobias' neck. “Let's tell 'em t' go home, and let me nibble on you instead.”

 

Tobias chuckled. “Horny bastard. You can nibble on me after we eat. Now, get the plates out.”

 

“Yes, boss,” Jethro snarked, stepping reluctantly away from the other man to get the plates out on the table. He counted out what they'd need, setting them around. “Forks enough or you need knives?”

 

“With my chicken? Jethro. You wound me. My chicken just falls apart.” Tobias grinned. “I think we'll be alright with just forks.”

 

Jethro grunted his acknowledgment, then set about making the table look – decent. They were two grumpy old men hosting his team, not two young gay prep students entertaining their parents.

 

“Clear the road,” Tobias called, and Jethro stepped quickly to get out of his way. He heard a knock at the door, and the door opened. “Go see who it is, Jethro. I'll finish up in here.”

 

“Got it.” Jethro looked down at himself, making sure everything was just right, then caught his reflection in the glass of the window. _Damn, old bastard,_ he thought with a quiet amusement as he went to see who had arrived first.

 

“Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!!” Abby bounced into his arms in greeting. “I know you said not to bring anything, but I thought, if you've got something important to tell us, it needs good liquidation. So, I brought some wine. It's red. It's not the best vintage, because, Gibbs, those are expensive. But it's pretty good, I think.” He grinned over her shoulder, pulling out from her embrace.

 

“You were right,” he called, leaving off any endearment or form of address for now.

 

“Told ya,” the very familiar voice called back, and Gibbs rolled his eyes in fond exasperation.

 

“Is that Fornell, Gibbs? Is everything okay? Tony hasn't been put in jail for murder again, has he?” Abby pressed the wine into his hands, and went into the kitchen, most likely to interrogate Tobias. Jethro snorted, and shook his head, especially after hearing DiNozzo's opening salvo.

 

“No, Abbs, I'm just fine,” the young man called into the house. “But so nice to know that's the first thing you think about me.”

 

“Settle down, DiNozzo.” Gibbs said, gently. The corners of Tony's mouth turned up, and he nodded.

 

“On it, Boss. Brought you some biscotti. I know you said not to bring anything, but ...”

 

“Damn kids never listen.” He groused and took the plate of food, leading Tony into the kitchen. “Two for two, Tobias.”

 

Tobias' grin was feral. Jethro never should have made that bet.

 

The door swung open again, and Ziva, Ducky and Tim arrived. “Jethro, I hope you don't mind. I brought some bread. I wasn't sure what your plans were, and I know you said ...”

 

By now, everyone in the kitchen could recite along, “... not to bring anything...” Jethro rolled his eyes.

 

“Bring it in here, Duck.” He gestured to the counter.

 

McGee and Ziva also had brought something. McGee had brought some weird after-dinner chocolate mint things, and Ziva had brought some juice or something. Which worked well for people who wanted to stay away from the wine. “Sit down.” He gestured toward the table, and helped Tobias get the chicken and pasta and sides out.

 

“Oh, this looks good, Boss, did you make it?” Predictably, DiNozzo was the first to comment.

 

“Nope, Tobias did.” Jethro sat down in his usual seat, and motioned for Toby to sit by him. “You wanna serve, or let the kids get their own?” He snorted, giving his lover a sly smile.

 

“Shut up, Jethro,” Toby groused. “Go ahead, eat.” He began passing things around to everyone around the table, watching their faces as they began to eat. Ducky's bread and the ladies' drinks made an appearance as well.

 

Jethro filled up his plate, began cutting his chicken with his fork, and sighed deeply. “Wanted t' tell you all somethin'.”

 

“You are dying.” That was Ziva's suggestion.

 

“Gibbs, you'd better not be haring off to Mexico again, Mister.” Abby scowled over at him, expression intense.

 

“Boss, you got married again!” Tony crowed, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

 

“Fornell wants to take us undercover?” Tim suggested.

 

Ducky just waited silently, giving the kids odd looks at their ever increasingly odd comments.

 

“Tony's closest, well, kinda.” Jethro began, though Toby snorted beside him. “Shut up, Tobias, or you wanna do it. Might do it better.”

 

“Your kids, your job.” Toby smirked at him, then reached down beneath the table, grabbing his hand. “Just blurt it out, Jethro. They don't care.”

 

“Tobias, we do too care!” Abby began, but at a sharp look from Gibbs, cut off.

 

“Yeah, you're probably right. All right. Here goes. Tobias and I are together. Have been since a couple months after Diane walked out on 'im. Been a hell of a long time. Ups and downs...” He shrugged.

 

“Just a couple of grumpy old men, eh, Jethro?” Tobias winked at him, and the team gaped at them in shock for several minutes.

 

Ducky was the first to recover. “Well, Jethro, Tobias, I must say that this is a surprise. However, not an unpleasant one. May I be the first to wish you congratulations and felicitations, and hope that your relationship will last well past your retirement.” He beamed at the two of them, and Jethro felt something loosen in his chest.

 

“Boss, that's so cool!” Tony grinned. “Now, when I get blamed by the FBI ...” Tony stopped cold at a glare. “I mean. So, when you're 'discussing a case' in the elevator...” He made quotation marks with his fingers in the air.

 

“Toby?” Jethro grinned, and the other man reached over, sharply smacking Tony on the back of the head.

 

“Yes, Boss. Thank you Boss,” They fell silent again, eating their food, then Jethro stood up to get the biscotti.

 

“You gonna be alright with this? If not, I'll write ya a recommendation anywhere you wanna go.” His heart broke at saying those words, but he knew he had to. “Don't wanna lose any of ya. We ...” He gazed over at Tobias, unable to finish the sentence.

 

“What Jethro can't seem to put into words that well is that we call you his kids. He thinks of you that way. Well, other than Ducky, of course.” Tobias' smile turned cheeky and Gibbs had to roll his eyes.

 

“Aww, Bossman! That's so cute!” Abby gushed, and Jethro shook his head, smiling.

 

“No complaints here, Boss. Well, just that you're probably getting laid more regularly than me, which is really not fair, but...” Tobias reached over and whacked Tony again, this time a little more softly.

 

“Really beginning to see the appeal, Jethro.” He snorted.

 

“Told ya.”

 

“I have no problems with your relationship, Gibbs. It is a very good thing for you to have someone to come home to. You do come home to him, yes?” Ziva asked, holding her biscotti in the air.

 

“Yeah.” Jethro affirmed.

 

“That is good, then.” And Ziva nodded her head, satisfied.

 

Tim shrugged. “I don't really have a problem either way, Boss. I mean, it's kind of weird, and unexpected, but I'm okay with it.”

 

Abby was the last to speak, and she looked thoughtful. “I have a list of questions, Gibbs. A _list_!” She opened her mouth to start asking the first one, and Gibbs just gave her a look. “Aw, you're no fun.” She mock-pouted for several long seconds before a realization hit. “Oh, Toby! Carol's gonna be _so_ crushed!”

 

This time, it was Tobias' turn to groan.

 

* * *

When the kids had finally left and Jethro had answered all the important questions, dodged all the too-personal ones and reassured one of his oldest friends that he was indeed happy, he closed the door for the last time, turned to Tobias and snaked his arms around his waist. “Hell of a night.”

 

“Yeah.” Tobias wrapped his arms around Jethro's body, holding him close. “C'mon. Dishes'll wait until morning.

 

“Yeah.” Gibbs' monosyllabic reply was the last thing he said for a while as they both trudged upstairs to bed.


End file.
